Sweet Dreams
by INFERNOX
Summary: Charmy has a bit of a problem trying to hang out with Cream, and getting grounded doesn't make things better. When Eggman strikes again however, Charmy will have to do his best job yet in order to save Cream from Eggman's newest plan to conquer Mobius!


**Well, whaddya know? My first one-shot...(gulp)...wish me luck people.**

**Before we do start, I'd like to give credit to sprx777. He was originally supposed to write this fic, but he couldn't finish it unfortunately. He trusted me with the remainder of the one-shot, and so, I shall finish this one-shot for him, as well as deliver it all to the viewing world. Please enjoy my first one-shot, even if the idea wasn't started by me directly. ^^**

**_Sweet Dreams_**

White, puffy clouds floated in the bright blue summer sky over lush green forests on the planet of Mobius. Bright green leaves danced in the gentle winds as everything flittered and swayed in the sunlight of a warm and refreshing summer day in the middle of July. A small white picket fence was standing erect and unmoving about three feet away from a small brown dirt road; behind the fence lied a two-story house, painted a light tan color with brown shingles and white gutters complimenting the house's beauty. A large wooden door with a small, almost-rusty-looking bronze handle was installed at the front of the house, just behind a small porch with a sunroof and a swinging cushion chair meant for two. Right next to the painted wooden staircase were two evenly trimmed and healthy bushes; both were large and prominent, as if they were botanical sentinels to the tan-colored house that lied behind their presence.

In the front lawn of the abode was a freshly cut lawn with a flowerbed nearby, sprouting all sorts of vibrant flowers in varying stages of life. The flowerbed was the same length as the white picket fence in both directions, giving the front of the house a natural and fresh feel thanks to the flowers. Many different flowers were planted within the flowerbed, all of them almost perfectly lined up for a clean and settling ambiance. Pink-petaled chrysanthemums wafted on the edges of the flowerbeds, with purple violets and yellow daisies placed in-between. Some small red roses, just beginning to bloom, were also placed within the garden of flowers as well as some pink- and yellow-petaled dahlias. A small black fence-only about the same height as the blooming roses-was inserted into the ground in front of the flowerbeds to prevent any small children from running into the flowerbed.

However, there were also some weeds in the freshly fertilized flowerbed. Picking out the weeds was a young beige-colored rabbit with an orange one-piece dress, a blue ribbon situated on her neck that wraps around underneath a white collar, two white gloves with an orange button on the cuffs, and orange shoes with a yellow top to the shoes. The young rabbit had large floppy ears that bent behind her head, and she focused her work on the small weeds that were feeding on the nutrients of the soil; her brown eyes scanned the flowerbed, as she carefully picked and prodded at the weeds to ensure each one would be pulled out of the flowerbed.

As the young rabbit did this normally irritating task, a tiny blue-skinning fairy-like creature flittered over to her side. The small blue creature had yellow skin on his stubby little hands, his tiny feet, and at the tip of his head; he also had a small yellow-skinned orb hovering above his head at all times. The small fairy sported a shiny red bow, and he soon landed from his flying next to the young rabbit, garnering her attention. Smiling and moving backwards to see the small fairy easier, the young rabbit smiled a friendly smile to the tiny fairy.

"Hello, Cheese," the young rabbit addressed, petting the small fairy's head as she did so. "What's my favorite little Chao up to?"

Cheese, the small blue-skinned fairy-or Chao, as the young rabbit put it-giggled upon the rabbit's soft petting of its head. "Chao chao!" Cheese giggled, obviously happy for being petted; the young rabbit smiled as Cheese giggled, and she knew Cheese was happy due to his normally round orb floating above his head turning into a heart-shaped orb while she petted him.

"Aw, you're so cute Cheese..." the young rabbit cooed as she lightly rubbed the head of the small Chao. Cheese continued to cutely giggle and laugh, which in turn made the rabbit laugh as well.

* * *

However, these two young animals were not alone.

Behind Cream's house were various oak trees, all standing firmly in the ground and sticking high into the air, their branches twisting amongst each other for squirrels, insects, and many other creatures to roam freely without even having to touch the ground.

It was inside these leaves and trees that a small bee was observing the two.

The bee was small, and he had yellow- and black-striped fur. He had two small antennae with the same yellow- and black-stripes sticking out of his forehead, although exactly where they sprouted out from is unknown: he was wearing a mainly black helmet with a red edge on his head, with two small orange-edged goggles pushed back on the helmet. The bee's clothing was a simple orange vest with a white honeycomb symbol where the hearts was; the bee also sported two white gloves, a pair of orange zipper shoes with white soles, and clear insect wings protruding from his back. The bee's fiery orange eyes shifted nervously to his left, right, and beneath him several times while he continued to observe the young rabbit and Cheese; he obviously did not wish to be caught at that moment in time.

"_OK...just remember what Silver told you Charmy...just talk to Cream like any other person you know...you just gotta be ready...be ready..._" the bee mentally went over, before taking a deep breath.

However, before Charmy the Bee could backtrack his steps and approach the young rabbit Cream without looking like a weirdo stalker, a more mature voice snapped up at him from below.

"Young man, what are you doing in our oak trees!" a rather feminine voice shouted. Charmy, surprised, widened his eyes, stiffened his antennae, and almost immediately broke out into a nervous sweat. Charmy, although relieved to see that Cream and her Chao companion Cheese did not notice the shout, was afraid of what would greet him at the base of the tree. Looking down, Charmy saw a middle-aged cream-colored female rabbit, with long ears like the younger rabbit, a small tuft of cream-colored fur atop her head in-between her large ears, and a dress with an ankle-length purple skirt sporting a solid white edge, a crimson vest with five golden buttons, and a small orange ribbon that wraps underneath her crimson collar around a white section of her dress. The older rabbit also sported two white gloves with a golden button on the cuffs like Cream, as well as a pair of red high-heel shoes with a single yellow ring on the top of both shoes. Charmy recognized the older rabbit instantly, and so did the older rabbit.

"Um...uh..." Charmy nervously stuttered. "_I KNEW I should've thought of an alibi before coming out here!"_

"Charmy Bee!" the older rabbit shouted. "I ask again, why are you trespassing?"

Charmy couldn't have been more afraid now than he was before; his mind was flipping into overdrive, and his mouth began working with no consequences. "Uh, I'm here on a Chaotix stealth mission from Espio! Yeah! But you found me, so too bad for me! Gotta go! Bye!" Charmy nervously lied.

"Hold it, young man!" the older rabbit shouted. "Stealth missions or not, trespassing isn't a very nice thing to teach to anyone, let alone a small child like yourself."

Charmy gulped; was she not going to let him go? "Erm...I'm sorry for trespassing, Miss Vanilla...may I please go home now?"

Vanilla, the older rabbit, shook her head no. "I'm very sorry Charmy, but you must come down here," Vanilla asked. "I need to call Espio about this. Please come down for now."

Charmy's eyes widened to an extent worse than before. "_No...no no no! This isn't what's supposed to happen!_ Sure...I'll come down..." Charmy gulped. Charmy lightly flew down, his normally vibrant face paled a bit. Vanilla turned around and opened the backdoor quietly; once she got inside, Charmy followed suit, feeling defeated.

"_I am so dead..._" Charmy gulped nervously. Vanilla went over to a small, round table with a green flower pattern on a cloth over said table. Vanilla pulled up a wooden chair for Charmy, and she turned to him, smiling a friendly yet annoyed smile.

"Please sit down, Charmy. Do you want a glass of water?" Vanilla politely asked. Charmy flew over to the chair and sat down, before turning to Vanilla.

"Uh...um...y...yes please..." Charmy politely answered. Vanilla nodded and went over to the white refrigerator standing in the back of the kitchen. While Vanilla got out a water purifier and began pouring a glass for Charmy, Charmy sat in the chair nervous, his mind going nearly one hundred miles a minute.

"_Oh no oh no oh NO! If she calls Espio about this, I'll get in so much trouble! I probably won't be able to go on any more investigations! Oh, Vector's going to be STEAMED!_" Charmy nervously thought. Vanilla put away the water container and set down the water glass in front of Charmy.

"I'll be in the other room calling Espio," Vanilla noted. "When you are finished with your water, please come see me, Charmy."

"Y-yes, m'am," Charmy understood. Vanilla nodded, and smiled a reassuring smile.

"Charmy, I know you're scared...but please just be calm," Vanilla reassured. "I'm sure Espio will understand. After all, it was only a training mission."

Charmy then felt his entire body warm up in embarrassment over his lie. Vanilla got back up and went into the next room; Charmy risked a glance to just see a single glance of a home phone in its cradle, just waiting to be dialed. When the door to the living room shut, Charmy nervously looked back down to his water glass. Taking a nervous but firm grip on the water glass, Charmy began downing the water, nearly choking on it due to the large quantity he was taking at such a fast speed.

"_But Espio never understands! He always yells at me and doesn't let me do what I want! When I screw up once, he takes it as an eternal failure!_" Charmy mentally cried out. "Oh...this is bad..."

"Hello? Is this the Chaotix Detective Agency?" Vanilla asked; Charmy only barely heard those words be spoken. Charmy looked back at his water glass to down more of the temporarily calming water. There was none left.

"Oh...this is so bad! I thought Silver said this would work..." Charmy nervously twittered. "Did I do something wrong...?"

* * *

Vanilla stood in her living room, holding her phone to her ear while twirling a small part of the twisted phone wire on her right index finger.

"Chaotix Detective Agency," a gruff voice on the other end of the phone answered.

"Ah! Vector, is that you?" Vanilla asked. A small pause on the other side of the phone was heard, included with some short ruffling. The gruff voice on the other end soon changed to a more calmer, yet still visible gruff, voice.

"Ah, Miss Vanilla," Vector chuckled. "What do you need from little old me and the Chaotix Detective Agency?"

Vanilla giggled slightly. "Oh, I just have a question. I found Charmy inside my backyard trees," Vanilla explained.

"Oh, that little scamp, always running about! Sorry if he bothered you by accident!" Vector laughed on the other end.

"Bothered me? Oh it's OK," Vanilla answered happily. "After all, he was just on a training exercise from Espio."

"Oh, really?" Vector asked, surprised. "Didn't know Espio had a training mission for Charmy today."

"Well, I'm going to send Charmy over to your Agency in a moment or two. I'm so sorry for bothering you," Vanilla apologized.

"Don't be sorry! It's probably our fault anyway!" Vector humbly disagreed. Vanilla just rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"You're so nice, Vector," Vanilla laughed. "Charmy should be over in a moment or two."

"OK," Vector answered. "Remember: if you ever need anything, you know our lines will always be open!"

"I will, Vector. Have a good day," Vanilla laughed.

"You too, Miss Vanilla!" Vector chuckled. It wasn't long before Vanilla heard a dial tone on the other end; turning off her home phone, Vanilla turned around and headed back for the kitchen door.

* * *

Charmy, during this time, was floating in front of the sink, after having placed the water glass inside the sink. Looking outside the clean windows to the front yard, Charmy saw Cream and Cheese, both having fun while working on the flower gardens. Charmy rested one of his elbows on the sink's edge and rested his head on his subsequent head, sighing.

"_Oh, why do I have all the bad luck...?_" Charmy sighed. The sound of the door opening behind him scared Charmy into moving away from the sink, as well as also turning around.

"Excuse me Charmy?" Vanilla began. "Oh, I didn't see you get up..."

"Just putting the glass in the sink, hehe!" Charmy noted nervously.

"Oh I see," Vanilla noted. "Well, I called the Agency. You can go home now. And next time you visit, please call beforehand."

"I will, Ms. Vanilla," Charmy nodded. "Well, have a good day!"

With that, Charmy nearly barreled out of the house, going out the back door so Cream wouldn't see him. Vanilla tilted her head in confusion at Charmy's attitude, but she let it go for now as she went back into the living room to see her daughter Cream outside.

* * *

Charmy flew in-between the many large trees in the backyard of Cream, Cheese, and Vanilla; it was extremely hard to figure out where the backyard ended and where the actual forest began. Charmy expertly swerved and weaved between the trees as fast as he possibly could; Charmy didn't know how long he was flying, but eventually came across a small two-story building with a yellowish color and green shingles. A large frontal sign reading "Detective Agency" was nailed on the front of the home, with a small mailbox at the end of a stone walkway to the wooden stairs leading to the front door. The grass was lush and green, although scraggly and obviously in need to be mowed. Some of the paint was chipping, but overall the house looked presentable.

Charmy nervously entered through the front door, hoping he wouldn't be pressed further about the situation he was in.

"Well, well, well. A so-called "training exercise" assigned by me, huh?" a calm but angry voice growled. Charmy, surprised, stiffened his antennae again; turning around, Charmy came face-to-face with a light purple chameleon with a coiled tail, a pointed yellow horn in-between his yellow eyes, purple shoes with a black strap in the middle, and two white gloves with a purple guard on the back of his hands that was connected to fancy cuffs that were armored and had golden buttons on he edge.

"Uh...hiya Espio!" Charmy nervously laughed.

"...Charmy, Vector informed me," Espio the Chameleon growled.

"...oh, uh, yeah! So, great mission and all! I almost pulled it off!" Charmy lied.

"Charmy, why were you even there?" Espio growled. "Trespassing isn't exactly something a child should be doing."

Charmy then felt a strange way of defense come over him. "H-hey! Hold on a moment!" Charmy shouted, trying to justify his actions. "Wh-what about when you infiltrate into Dr. Eggman's various bases?"

"That doesn't relate, Charmy. You and I BOTH know we have to do so to save whoever Eggman kidnaps as a part of his schemes," Espio countered.

"Oh, uh...um..." Charmy nervously chuckled. "Well, you see, I-!"

"You can't justify your actions, Charmy. You were trespassing and you know it," Espio growled. Charmy's eyes widened again: THAT wasn't what he was doing! Or even intending to do!

"B-but!" Charmy tried to continue.

"Don't try to wriggle your way out of this one Charmy!" a gruff voice shouted. Charmy, a bit frightened, jumped at the shout; Espio merely moved his head slightly to see who it was that shouted. At that moment, the owner of the voice came into the room; he was a green-skinned crocodile with red spikes going down the center of his back. He had sharp, pointy teeth, a long snout, a set of black headphones that usually blared music (however, for the first time I a while, they were turned off), a golden chain around his neck, a large pair of white gloves with black cuffs and a golden ring, and a pair of black tennis shoes with grey soles and a golden line on the side.

"Uh...hiya Vector...!" Charmy nervously noted. Vector, the large crocodile, shook his head in disappointment.

"I can't believe this, Charmy..." Vector sighed. "What have you been learning?"

"What do you mean?" Charmy asked, confused. Vector just shook his head again.

"I get it. I haven't been a good enough role model," Vector sighed.

"Not your fault, Vector. Charmy never was one to follow rules," Espio growled. This struck Charmy as odd and insulted, but he shrugged it off.

"Well, then, I guess we have to show Charmy discipline," Vector noted. Charmy, although worried, felt a bit relieved that was getting off the hook easy.

"Oh...like washing the dishes? Giving you half my pay of a successful job? Mowing the lawn?" Charmy wondered.

"...we've tried that in the past, yet you don't seem to learn," Espio noted. "I told Vector about this so we could discuss the situation. We both came upon an even ground: you need discipline."

"Uh...b...by discipline, you mean...?" Charmy wondered.

"Charmy...you're grounded," Espio announced. Charmy not only went rigid, but he even gasped out loud.

"Wh-WHAT!" Charmy shouted.

"The only exceptions are when we go on investigations that aren't dangerous," Vector noted.

"B-b-b-b-but what about-!" Charmy began stuttering.

"No "but's" Charmy," Espio noted. However, Charmy growled and then shouted out without thinking.

"What about when Metal Sonic did all those things involving Frogman, Chocola, AND Eggman's kidnappings! I came along with you guys and helped fight Metal Madness and all of Eggman's contraptions with no complaint!"

After Charmy shouted out loud, he covered his mouth in shock. Vector and Espio stared on, surprised, until Espio spoke up five long minutes later.

"The original mission was a plain assortment of other missions at first, Charmy," Espio explained. "They were harmless to you. However, Eggman's...or rather, Metal Sonic's constant attacks surprised us, and you even surprised us with how valiant you were in defending yourself as well as the others around you. Even so, you STILL manage to make childish mistakes: remember when we came across Amy, Big, and Cream in that jungle?"

The mention of Cream and when they fought not only stopped Charmy's argument in its tracks; it also brought up a shameful memory of what happened: he instigated the fight in the first place after all...

"And I doubt I need to remind you of what you did to Eggman when we found him..." Espio growled.

"Yeah! I mean, I was steamed like broccoli, but I wasn't gonna rough him up like that!" Vector added. Charmy just gaped.

"B-but what about when we fight Eggman's robots! Or those Metarex guys! Seriously!" Charmy pointed out.

"We fought them to defend ourselves and you from death!" Espio shouted. "Charmy, you're going to be grounded for an indefinite period of time. No questions or rebuttals."

Charmy just gaped. "_WHHHHHHHHHHHAAAAAAT! But-but-but-but...I WASN'T TRYING TO STALK THEM!_" Charmy mentally cried out. "_You guys just don't understand me! I just want to try to make new friends and be a good guy! I was only in the trees because I was afraid of her! Please don't judge me, I'm just trying to learn!_"

However, all Charmy could do was gape and stare, unable to say a word to his defense.

"Charmy, go upstairs and think about what you've done," Espio sighed. "We'll be up soon."

"...y...yeah...OK..." Charmy mumbled, beginning to float up the stairs to his room. His mind continued yelling and screaming to go back and fight for himself while he had a chance, but his body just kept floating upstairs. Charmy floated directly into his room, and he shut the door, thus beginning his punishment. Espio and Vector looked up the stairs, and Vector shook his head and sighed.

"It's so hard being a single father..." Vector sighed. Espio, shocked, turned to Vector.

"What are you talking about? Charmy's not your child," Espio explained.

"I know. Just trying to crack some jokes to enlighten the mood..." Vector pointed out.

"...sometimes I wonder what goes through your head..." Espio sighed.

"Me too. Now if you excuse me, I was listening to something," Vector chuckled, before flipping a switch on his headphones. Vector then began snapping his fingers and then walked into his office, humming the beat to the Team Chaotix theme song as he did so.

* * *

Cream continued to sift through the dirt, pulling out weeds big and small while cleaning the flowerbed. Vanilla sat in the rocking chair, knitting quietly while watching her daughter Cream and her faithful companion Cheese pull weeds and plant new flowers.

"OK, Cheese. May I please have another daisy seed?" Cream politely asked her Chao friend.

"Chao!" Cheese giggled, before gently pulling out a single seed from a daisy seed bag. Cheese handed over the seed gently, laughing as he did so. Cream, giggling, took the seed from Cheese's paws.

"Thank you very much, Cheese," Cream thanked, before gently planting the seed in her flower bed.

* * *

Not too fat away from the two female rabbits and their small Chao friend, however, was a large field of clouds in the air. Puffy, white, and marshmallow-like, the clouds twisted through the sky and weaved with the wind easily.

Within these clouds lied a fortress of steel, with mixes of red, grey, yellow, and black metal plating on the outsides. Plexiglass with strong, humanly unbreakable metal fibers laced the sides of the airship, tinted so that whoever was inside the ship could see outside of it. Large cannons protruded out of the sides of the airship, all locked, loaded, and primed for any type of attack. A symbol painted red with a black face, white eyes, and a black mustache could be seen constantly around the ship, as if reminding all those who witness the ship to remember that symbol for eternity.

Aboard the cockpit of the monstrous ship was a large and tall male scientist. His brown mustache shot out to the sides of his face, with his large red nose just above his proud mustache. Two blue goggles were in place of his eyes, and a pair of green-lens goggles with black caps laid atop his bare head. The man wore a red suit with four white belts on the sides-held down by four respective golden buttons-along with two egg-shaped white spheres by the edge of his red coat and a white zipper going up the center of the suit. The arms of the suit were red with yellow cuffs and white gloves at the end, with a single white streak going down to the cuff itself. The man's pants were black, with black shoes that seemingly blend in with the pants; the shoes had a single white line going from the middle of the leg to the middle of the shoe, as well as two small, egg-shaped grey orbs on the sides of the feet. The large scientist stared on through a windshield, almost bored as he waited for the clouds to finally break.

"Ugh, this is just too boring! WHERE'S Mobius!" the scientist shouted. Upon screaming, a small robot popped up next to the scientist; it had a white head with purplish-red LED eyes on a grey backdrop. Its entire body was wire-thin, and it had a pair of red gloves.

"Doctor Eggman, you should be more patient. It is only mere cloud cover. Ergo, a temporary inconvenience," the robot monotonously informed. The large-bodied scientist, Doctor Eggman, just growled and looked ahead, anticipating an eventual break in the irritating cloud cover.

"Ack! This is just so boring! Can I fire some missiles already?" Dr. Eggman growled.

"Please be more patient, Doctor Eggman," the robot droned. "After all, if my calculations are correct, we should be exiting the cloud cover...now."

As if on cue, bits of green grass and blue sky began to break away from the white cloud cover. Eggman turned to the windshield, staring and grinning evilly as the cloud cover began to dissipate.

"Ah finally! Now to begin my ultimate plan to build Eggmanland!" Eggman laughed. "Starting with the capture of all of Sonic's little animal friends!"

* * *

Cheese and Cream continued their picking of weeds and planting of seeds in the flower garden, happy and uninterrupted. Vanilla smiled as the two had fun planting flowers...until she looked to the sky and saw the emerging parts of Eggman's ship.

Gasping, Vanilla dropped her threads and knitting sticks as she hastily opened the front door. "Cream, Cheese, come inside quickly!" Vanilla warned. Cream, surprised, turned away from the flower bed to Vanilla.

"What's wrong, Mother?" Cream politely asked. Cheese also looked up, curious, but he didn't turn around to see Vanilla; Cheese's face froze up in fear as he saw the nose of Eggman's ship begin to come out. Cheese tugged on Cream's dress quickly, nervous.

"Chao! Chao chao chao! Chao!" Cheese shouted, pointing his left paw in the air at Eggman's ship. Cream quickly turned around, and witnessed Eggman's ship appear as well; Cream gasped, and she quickly got up, dropping her tools as she did so. Cream hurriedly turned around with Cheese's paw in her gloved hands; however, before she could even come close to her mother Vanilla, a large red robot dropped down in front of her. The robot was rotund, red as a pimple with blue eyes, and was about Vanilla's height. Cream gasped in surprise at this robot's sudden arrival; this delayed reaction was all the robot needed, as it quickly grabbed Cream with its extending and retracting arms to begin taking Cream up to the ship.

"AAAH! Mother, help me!" Cream cried out as she was snatched by the red robot. Cheese, angry at the Eggman robot, jumped towards the robot's face to fight it off; however, the robot merely swatted Cheese away before activating two jet boosters and flying into the sky.

"CREAM!" Vanilla shouted, trying to raise her arm to grab Cream's, although this effort was ultimately futile.

"Chao!" Cheese cried, also attempting to do the same thing. Cream screamed out in terror as she was carried off by Eggman's robotic minion back to the now-fully-exposed ship. Vanilla, fearing the worse, rushed over to Cheese, grabbed him, and ran back inside; locking the door and closing the blinds of the curtains, Vanilla made a beeline for the phone. Dialing madly, Vanilla held the phone transceiver to her face, hoping that who she called would pick up...

* * *

Vector sat in his black leather chair, his large feet propped up on his wooden desk next to some obviously moved papers that wouldn't get crinkled if Vector had moved them beforehand. Vector was bobbing his head back and forth to the musical beat, humming almost as loudly as the music blaring in his ears. Vector had his eyes shut and his hands behind his head as he bobbed his head to the beat; although blissfully unaware to the ringing phone, Espio-whom was meditating in the corner-heard the phone, got up, and picked up the phone to receive the call.

"Hello, Chaotix Detective Agency?" Espio asked.

"Espio? Oh thank goodness you're here!" Vanilla cried over the phone. Espio immediately realized that Vanilla was stressed over something; Espio decided to be careful in what he would say.

"Cream! She's...she's been kidnapped!" Vanilla wailed over the phone. "Eggman! He did this!"

"Eggman again?" Espio realized; a nagging thought in the back of the purple chameleon's mind told him he should've seen this coming in hindsight. However, Vanilla's sobs on the other end of the line prevented Espio from any internal nagging as he realized that Vanilla was obviously traumatized by this event.

"P...please Espio...please save my daughter...please..." Vanilla cried.

"...do not worry, Lady Vanilla. Team Chaotix are on the case," Espio reassured. Vanilla, although still extremely worried, sniffed in understanding on the other end.

"Thank you...please tell Vector I said hi," Vanilla asked.

"I will," Espio acknowledged. With that, Vanilla turned off the phone, greeting Espio to a boring dial tone. Espio hung up the phone just moments after Vector finally ended his song; the clang of the phone being put back into its receiver made Vector's eyes open wide upon realizing someone had been in his office the whole time.

"Uh, Espio, how long have you been standing there?" Vector asked.

"We got another mission," Espio noted. Vector's eyes lit up: another mission meant income, and income meant food!

"Alright! So what's the deal?" Vector chuckled. Espio then began to fill in Vector on the situation at hand, which immediately got Vector's attention upon the first mention of Vanilla.

* * *

However, thanks to a connecting air vent, Charmy heard the entire explanation of the mission to Vector. Shocked, Charmy flew over to his window and stared out at the blue afternoon sky. Sure enough, he could spot some trails of unnatural grey smoke, but no airship.

"_Cream's kidnapped! This isn't good at all! This day isn't how it was supposed to go!_" Charmy angrily thought. Charmy buzzed to his door quickly, intending to open it and ask Espio about the situation. However, before he could open his door, it opened thanks to Vector, who had already scrambled upstairs to inform Charmy. Charmy, surprised, slammed right into Vector's chest, sliding down it comically before falling on the floor, stars in his eyes.

"Owie..." Charmy muttered.

"Heya Charmy!" Vector chuckled. Charmy, annoyed and impatient, flittered back up into the air.

"Uh, what is it Vector? Is it about Cream's kidnapping?" Charmy wondered. Vector, surprised Charmy figured that out, eyed him suspiciously.

"How did ya know about Espio's and my mission?" Vector asked. Charmy was about to begin explaining how Espio talks too loud while also omitting the fact that he had his ear pressed against the air vents until Vector said "Espio's and my mission."

"Wait...aren't I coming along?" Charmy wondered.

"No Charmy," Vector denied. Charmy's eyes widened again, but this time out of fury.

"Wh-WHY!" Charmy shouted, angry.

"Because this is a dangerous mission!" Vector growled. "The other times you got involved with dangerous missions were by accident, so this time, we're keeping you OUT of danger."

"B-but I wanna come with!" Charmy shouted.

"No Charmy!" Vector retorted. "For one thing, you're still grounded. Secondly, this mission cannot be messed up in any way, so I don't wish to take you along for obvious reasons. And third, aren't you always complaining that you don't wanna go on missions?"

Charmy was at a loss for words; he only wanted to complain about boring missions, not vital ones! "But Vector, I-!" Charmy began; his plea came too late, though, as Espio ran up as fast as his legs could let him.

"Vector, we have to move now!" Espio informed.

"Alright, alright, keep your horn on!" Vector sighed. "Charmy, I know you'll try to get out. So if you do, we might drop you from the team until you get older."

Now Charmy had it. "OH COME ON! That's not even fair!" Charmy complained.

"Can it, Charmy!" Vector shouted. "You're only six! You're kinda our mascot anyway, but we let you tag along for other missions."

"The boring ones!" Charmy cried.

"Every mission is vital to us Charmy," Espio calmly informed.

"Yeah, vital to your paychecks..." Charmy grumbled, his arms crossed.

"Hey, it's not our fault we-!" Vector began, until Espio grabbed Vector's arm.

"Vector, we have to go now before we lose sight of Eggman!" Espio informed. "Charmy, stay here, or you won't be an official member of the Chaotix until you turn thirteen. Understood?"

"What!" Charmy gaped; from this response, Espio understood that he got the message. Espio turned and began to dash down the stairs and out the door, with Vector following; before leaving, Vector turned back to Charmy and narrowed his eyes.

"I'll try putting in some words with Espio to get you ungrounded faster, only if you stay. Got it?" Vector asked.

"...yeah..." Charmy answered, feeling like a deflated balloon while doing so. Vector nodded in understanding, before running out the door and following Espio silently. Charmy floated there at the top of the staircase, feeling terrible like he had just betrayed someone.

"...I can't stay here while Cream's kidnapped..." Charmy sighed. "...I'm going in."

With those three words of determination, Charmy flew down the steps and doubled back to go into the kitchen. Heading out the back door, Charmy began to go through the woods to find a way to Eggman's airship.

* * *

Charmy flew through the forests at high speeds, dodging trees, branches, and shrubs while looking for a way to Eggman's airship. "_C'mon, his house HAS to be around here somewhere!_" Charmy thought, irritated.

While searching as fast as he could, Charmy soon flew out into an clearing. Surprised at this change of scenery, Charmy looked around and saw a workshop less than twenty feet away from him. Realizing where he was, Charmy immediately flew to the back of the house and went around it, making sure to avoid going past windows. Charmy poked his head around the corner of the house, and saw a large blue mech with yellow lines and metallic features stood erect outside of a workshop atop a small seaside cliff. A young yellow-furred two-tailed fox with white tips of fur on his tails, muzzle, and stomach was working on the mech with determination; he also appeared to be waiting for someone. While the fox worked on the mech effortlessly, Charmy began tiptoeing towards the mech, intending to hide under it to avoid detection. Charmy quickly snuck past Tails and got to the front of the Tornado 2; wasting no time, Charmy crawled under the Tornado 2 and grabbed onto some strong wires and pipes, holding on loosely for now.

"Yo Tails!" a lone voice shouted out. Tails the Fox got up from working on his mech system and turned to his right; upon doing so, he saw a familiar blue hedgehog with red shoes, yellow buckles on white straps atop the red shoes, and white gloves walk up.

"Sonic, you got here just in time!" Tails informed.

"Good thing I did too!" Sonic the Hedgehog laughed. "Would've been here sooner, but you know: safety first."

"Chili dog break?" Tails sighed sarcastically.

"Yep," Sonic chuckled. "So, you got a call from Vanilla about Eggman?"

"Yeah Sonic. Apparently he kidnapped Cream," Tails informed. "He's probably going to use her as ransom for some Chaos Emeralds."

"When will the doc ever learn?" Sonic chuckled. "So, you got the Tornado 2 ready to fly?"

Tails smiled and turned to the blue mech: his pride and joy, the Tornado 2. "Just refueled it! We should be ready to fly when you're ready!" Tails informed.

"Well, then, start it up so we can take the Eggman down!" Sonic chuckled, jumping onto the back end of the Tornado 2 as he did so. Tails nodded his head and jumped into the cockpit, before beginning to press buttons and flip ignitions switches to start up the Tornado 2. However, before they could lift off, Espio and Vector dashed onto the scene.

"Hey hold up!" Vector shouted. Sonic and Tails both turned to see Espio and Vector run up, obviously in need of something.

"What is it? And where's Charmy?" Tails asked.

"Charmy's staying at home right now," Espio answered. "Vanilla put us on a mission to get to Eggman and rescue Cream. Would it be alright if we tagged along in your ship?"

"I don't see why not," Tails agreed. "Just be careful; not much room up here."

"Got it! Thanks, fox boy!" Vector laughed, before jumping on the back of the Tornado 2 and nearly tilting it over. Espio got on carefully, putting himself closer to Tails but still behind him so he would evenly distribute the weight. Tails turned an ignition switch in the Tornado 2, and before long, Sonic, Tails, Vector, and Espio shot out into the sky, chasing after Eggman to save Cream. Charmy grasped onto the pipes tighter now; if he lost his grip, he would plummet down, lose his chance to save Cream, and even lose his detective rank with the Chaotix.

* * *

Cream, scared, sat quietly and nervously inside a small glass bubble inside the cockpit of Eggman's ship. Cream briefly remembered being captured like this not too long ago before being sent to the world of Chris Thorndyke; however, this time Cheese wasn't with her. Cream was unsure if this was a good or bad thing, but she kept her thoughts to herself since Eggman was a mere ten feet away, munching on a ham sandwich while overlooking his ship's systems. The small robot from before popped up from his usual spot on Eggman's desk, scaring Eggman and nearly making him choke on his sandwich.

"Doctor Eggman, we have an important issue to deal with," the robot informed. Eggman, obviously angry, sat back upright and smacked the robot across its face.

"You bumbling imbecile! Don't scare me like that again!" Eggman growled.

"My apologies Doctor Eggman," the robot apologized. "We have confirmed on our radars that the Tornado 2 is coming at our ship at an alarming rate. Ergo, Sonic is coming."

"Well, the blue blur strikes again, does he?" Eggman chuckled. "We'll see how well he deals with my Badniks! This time, the Eggman Empire will succeed!"

Eggman then began spinning in his chair while laughing evilly. Cream and the robot stared on at Eggman in confusion, and the robot quietly turned to Cream and lowered its voice. "Eggman Empire Attempt 276, miss. You'll probably be free soon," the robot quietly informed. Cream, although silent, at least smiled at this: whether the robot was lying or not was unknown, but at least the robot had a sense of humor. Eggman stopped spinning in his chair, and he turned to his intercom system. Pressing the intercom button, Eggman began barking orders into the microphone.

"All systems! Full power! Stop Sonic the Hedgehog and any of his allies from entering my Egg Carrier Mark 4!" Eggman ordered. "And someone bring me another ham sandwich!"

"Right away, Doctor Eggman," the robot sighed, before going back into the porthole that the robot originally popped up from in the first place. Eggman chuckled evilly and rubbed his hands together, obviously ecstatic.

"Sonic will never be able to penetrate my defenses this time! For now, he doesn't know what's coming to him!" Eggman hooted. Cream then got worried again; what exactly was Eggman talking about?

* * *

Sonic, Tails, Vector, Espio, and the hidden Charmy all flew towards the Egg Carrier Mark 4, with Tails already having an opened radar to detect any incoming missiles. Sure enough, several missiles began to fly out at high speeds towards the Tornado 2, and they were all closing in fast.

"Hold on everyone!" Tails shouted; pressing a firing switch, the front of the Tornado 2 began firing laser shots out at the missiles. The lasers from the Tornado 2 connected with Eggman's missiles, destroying them easily before they could do any kind of damage to the Tornado 2. Charmy held on for dear life, his teeth gritted together as he tried to maintain focus. More missiles and ever gunfire erupted from the Egg Carrier Mark 4, all of it centered on the Tornado 2. Tails swerved the Tornado 2 left, right, up and down, all at high speeds to avoid the bullets while also firing lasers to destroy the missiles. Charmy felt like a rag doll as he hung on for dear life; although he would've been cramped, Charmy now wished he had stowed himself inside some compartment inside the Tornado 2.

"You think YOU can stop me now, Sonic!" Eggman shouted over a loud intercom. "Get a load of this!"

Upon screaming those five words, a storm of missiles shot out towards the Tornado 2. Tails gritted his teeth and began firing lasers at the highest possible speed. "Hold on tight, you guys!" Tails warned.

"Don't need to tell me twice!" Vector shouted over the noise. Charmy clung onto the bottom of the Tornado 2 for dear life; however, he risked a glance to see where he was. Upon doing so, Charmy saw at least six missiles trained on the underside of the Tornado 2.

Right where he was.

Charmy stared, in shock and unable to produce words. "_Do I reveal myself or do I keep quiet!_" Charmy mentally debated; however, before Charmy could even think, the Tornado 2 sunk down to avoid overhead missiles. This made the Tornado 2 fly past the missiles menacing Charmy, and the missiles that Tails didn't hit collided and exploded safely behind them. Charmy, now sweating, kept his grip firm but not too tight.

"Alright Tails!" Sonic praised.

"Here we come, Eggman!" Tails shouted, having flown past the missile barrage easily.

"Grah! He's not gonna get away with this!" Eggman screamed over the intercom, before firing all remaining missiles at the Tornado 2. Vector's eyes widened, and Espio narrowed his eyes and prepared for more loud explosions. Tails continued his laser barrage on the missiles as they got over the top of the Egg Carrier Mark 4; Tails blasted away the final couple of missiles, and the Tornado 2 began its descent upon the Egg Carrier Mark 4.

"Alright, time to land this thing!" Sonic chuckled. Tails's eyes then widened in realization, as he facepalmed after Sonic said that. Sonic saw this, and sighed. "...you forgot to install the landing gear?"

Tails just sighed. "Gimme a second; I'll transform into the mech formation," Tails noted, before pressing a blue button with a yellow-and-white twin tails logo on it. Immediately, the Tornado 2 began changing formation; this alarmed Charmy, as if he resided underneath the mech for any longer, he'd be squished! Letting go of the pipes, Charmy silently fell to the Egg Carrier Mark 4's deck; landing safely, Charmy looked up as he saw Tails and the others land farther up on the Egg Carrier Mark 4's landing deck; Charmy witnessed Sonic, Vector, and Espio jump out to begin their ground assault, while Tails began using the Tornado 2's transformed state to shoot up sentry robot guards. Charmy sighed in relief...

...until two Badniks appeared from a trick floor behind him. Charmy, alarmed to heard noises behind him, turned around to see two large red robots of the same design that captured Cream. Before Charmy could do anything, one of the robots grabbed him by the torso, squeezing Charmy's arms to his sides, making escape impossible.

"This isn't how I planned it..." Charmy sighed; yet something else had gone wrong today.

* * *

While Sonic, Tails, Espio, and Vector all fought their way through the hordes of Eggman's robots, Charmy was thrown inside a jail cell deep within the Egg Carrier Mark 4. After being securing locked up, the two Badniks that captured him walked off. Charmy sighed in irritation: first being grounded, now this. While Charmy sat there, sulking in his failure, he then realized something important: Sonic wants to take down the Egg Carrier Mark 4.

And no one knew he was on board.

"I've gotta find a way outta here!" Charmy shouted, determined. Charmy then began looking around quickly for anything he could use to help him; all Charmy took note of was that he was in an old, windowless, and dusty jail cell with nothing inside, not even an uncomfortable cot. Charmy looked in his sole pocket on his orange vest for anything he could use: all he was able to take out was a half-dollar he had saved for ice cream after getting his share of a minor mission no more than two weeks ago.

"Wait...I can use this to break out!" Charmy laughed, before heading over to the iron bars. Charmy took the half-dollar to one iron bar and began to rub it against the side of the half-dollar in an attempt to break the bar.

"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon..." Charmy muttered while trying to saw his way out with money. Charmy sped up the process, hoping he would find a way to break out soon.

* * *

Eggman sat in his swivel chair in the cockpit, grinning evilly, much to Cream's chagrin.

"So, Sonic thinks he's outsmarted me, eh?" Eggman laughed; Eggman then pressed the intercom button and spoke into it, feigning an irritated tone of voice.

"Ack! You think you can stop me! Get a load of this!" Eggman shouted, before letting go of the intercom button. "Hopefully some of my robots attacked them at that point...it'd be suspicious otherwise."

"Wh...what are you planning...?" Cream murmured, obviously afraid. Eggman just turned to her while grinning evilly.

"Oh, nothing short of perfection, my dear Cream," Eggman chuckled evilly. "Now, just to activate it..."

"Activate what?" Cream asked, scared.

"...you'll see..." Eggman laughed evilly.

* * *

"Just a bit more..." Charmy chuckled happily, having almost completely cut his way through the thin iron bars that kept him back. "A...bit...more...got it!"

With that, Charmy managed to successfully cut his way through a small section of the bar. "Now, if I can just get the bottom half of the bar, I can squeeze my way out!" Charmy chuckled. "Espio'll be so proud of m...oh, right."

Sighing, Charmy lowered his body to use his half-dollar to cut his way through the small section of bar at the bottom. However, as soon as he began trying to saw his way through, the half-dollar broke apart, falling to the ground in two small pieces. Charmy gaped, realizing the half-dollar wasn't as strong as a file and would break easy.

"Oh, this is bad!" Charmy moaned. "These pieces are too small to do anything! What do I do!"

Charmy then began pacing around the room nervously, trying to think of another way to break out of the cell he was in. "What do I do! What do I do! I don't have anything else...to...wait..." Charmy began thinking. "If...if I'm careful, I could...that could work!"

Charmy ran over to the cell bars; turning around so his back was facing the bars, Charmy kneeled down; although he was in an awkward position, Charmy knew this would be the only way to break out. Brandishing his sharp stinger, Charmy backed up until his stinger was even with the iron bar, and he began rubbing his stinger against the iron bar. Charmy bit his lower lip in pain; it was extremely painful, but he knew it was the only way out. Being a Mobian bee meant he could use his stinger much more effectively than normal bees, so Charmy figured he shouldn't worry about accidentally pulling his stinger out while using it as a sawing tool.

"Ow, ow, ow, ow, ow..." Charmy cried, still trying his hardest to break free. "_This could be a bit..._"

Charmy continued rubbing his sensitive stinger against the iron bar, now wishing he had another way to break free; knowing he didn't, Charmy bit his lower lip hard and-while tears welled in his eyes-he began thinking of different thoughts to keep his mind off the pain. Candy, new food couples, that time Charmy managed to scare Vector, Vanilla's feast for them after the Metarex incident came to a close...

"_I can do this...for my friends! Yeah that's right!_" Charmy motivated himself in his mind. "_I gotta show Espio I can be something useful!_"

Charmy then, against his already-pained body's wishes, began to speed up the process of escaping. Whimpering a bit in pain, Charmy soon broke through the thin iron bars; turning around and stretching out his back from being scrunched over, Charmy charged for the bar he broke through. Knocking the loosened bar right out of its place, Charmy managed to squeeze himself through the thin gap he made; although it took him a bit to get through safely, he managed to squeeze his way to the other side.

"Alright! Free at last!" Charmy chuckled. "Now...which way was the exit...?"

Charmy began looking around; he had two different exits to choose from. Recalling from his memory, he turned towards the exit that Eggman's Badnik had dropped him off at earlier. "Alright! Time to save Cream and prove I can be a good member of the Chaotix!" Charmy chuckled to himself, before flying out of the exit at high speed.

* * *

Eggman was rapidly pressing buttons on his control panel, his head twitching from monitor to monitor; Eggman's eyes were swiping from keypad to Sonic's location to the damages of the Egg Carrier Mark 4 and so forth. Cream, although scared, kept her wits and sat silently, staring on at Eggman while he scrambled to finish whatever dastardly deed he had planned. Soon enough, the small robot that Eggman had been conversing with before appeared from its usual pop-up area on Eggman's desk.

"I bring new information, Doctor Eggman," the robot began.

"Yes, what is it?" Eggman mumbled, still pressing buttons and flipping switches.

"We have gotten the power for our latest weapon ready," the robot informed. "Shall you activate it in the name of your glorious Eggman Empire?"

Eggman, hearing this new information, stopped his scrambling hands and smirked. "Ah, it seems only fitting that I, the ruler of soon-to-be Eggmanland, should press the button to seal my fate into royalty. Fine! So it begins!" Eggman laughed, before slamming his right fist down onto the keyboard; this, in turn, pressed a green button with a white version of Eggman's head on it.

* * *

Charmy continued flying through various metallic corridors, trying to either find a way out or a way to Cream. Constant explosions were vibrating around the halls, although they were all far from his current location: he could tell from how faint they were. No Badniks were patrolling the hallways, making it easier for Charmy to fly through the metal deathtrap of an airship. While flying around, Charmy passed through a doorway into a larger and circular room with only some scrap metal lying in the center. Charmy, ignoring the scrap metal hunk, stopped and listened closely; there were four exits in the room, and one of them should lead to freedom or Cream or maybe even both.

"Hmm..." Charmy mumbled, putting one hand next to his ear for better audio. The left hallway had some explosions coming farther down it, so he could assume it was Sonic, Tails, Espio, and Vector coming in fast. Charmy then began to sweat nervously; if Vector or Espio caught him, he'd be dead.

"Wait a sec..." Charmy thought out loud; a realization then hit Charmy: Espio could turn invisible! Charmy, not wanting to get found out since Espio had a tendency to run ahead while invisible, began flying towards the exiting hallway on the other side of the circular room.

However, then the junk pule began moving.

Charmy, surprised, jumped back as the metal scrap heap slowly stood up, with two red LED eyes on a black screen background appeared in front of Charmy. The scrap heap turned out to be a silver hedgehog robot resembling Sonic, with spiked claws and a whirling buzzsaw where Sonic's quills would be.

"SILVER SONIC MARK THREE ACTIVATED," the robotic Sonic began. "LOCALIZING AREA."

"Silver Sonic...?" Charmy muttered, surprised. Silver Sonic's eyes rested on Charmy, before focusing directly on his small, puny, and unroboticized body.

"MOBIAN DETECTED. ENGAGING BATTLE FEATURES," Silver Sonic droned; in a sheer moment, Silver Sonic's steel-red shoes spurt out two small jet boosters from the soles of the shoes. Charmy didn't need to second-guess himself now: he knew what was coming.

A battle.

Silver Sonic charged directly at Charmy, spinning into a large buzzsaw-ball to slice Charmy into two. Charmy effectively dodged, just barely missing having his tiny insect wings clipped by Silver Sonic. The robotic Sonic duplicate took notice that Charmy was not destroyed; however, Charmy had already processed the fact that Silver Sonic was vulnerable, so Charmy charged at the lower half of Silver Sonic. Charmy rammed into the lower half of Silver Sonic...

...and instantly regretted it.

"Ouchie ouchie OW!" Charmy cried, having hurt his right arm from slamming into metal. Silver Sonic curled into a buzzsaw-ball and charged at Charmy again, this time going from an aerial angle. Charmy ducked underneath Silver Sonic, before going up close to the robot. Remembering how Tails always was tinkering with robots, Charmy began banging his fist on parts of the Silver Sonic to find a loose panel he could use to mess with Silver Sonic's circuitry. However, after about three or four attempts in one go, Silver Sonic turned around and swiped at Charmy with his sharp robotic claws; moving back, Charmy flew around erratically to confuse Silver Sonic's attack pattern.

"DOWNLOADING ATTACK PATTERN. DATA INSUFFICIENT. ACTIVATING BACK-UP ATTACK MODE," Silver Sonic droned. Silver Sonic then curled into a buzzsaw-ball and launched himself into the air, before shooting out eight sharp spikes in all directions. Charmy, realizing there was no safe cover, flew out of the way of each one of the spikes before flying up close to Silver Sonic again. While Silver Sonic was still reloading his attacks, Charmy continued punching Silver Sonic's outer shell with massive interest.

"Alright, take this, bucket 'o bolts!" Charmy growled, before delivering a powerful kick to the side of Silver Sonic. Although he slightly bruised his foot from the impact, as well as the fact that Silver Sonic had no sense of pain, Charmy still stood to fight Silver Sonic. Silver Sonic turned around to charge at Charmy again and claw him until...

"I think she may be down here!" Espio's loud but calm voice announced. Charmy now understood how close Espio was to him, and without a second thought, Charmy delivered a powerful kick to the side of Silver Sonic's head to try and disorient the robot. However, while doing so, a small plate of metal fell off of Silver Sonic's head, exposing a large cluster of wires.

"_An entire...ah-ha!"_ Charmy chuckled, grinning maliciously as he did so. Before long, Charmy had his hands inside Silver Sonic's head, pulling out randomly colored wires as well as cutting them to say powerful outages. Silver Sonic's eyes began to bounce around like ping-pong balls while his body began angrily twitching. Charmy, freaked out but glad he forged a distraction for himself, charging off down the hallway on the opposite end of the wall to find Cream, freedom, or both. Behind him, Silver Sonic tried to pursue Charmy, but ended up tripping over its own two feet and bouncing in its buzzsaw-ball form for a couple seconds.

* * *

Espio, under the guise of invisibility, dashed into the circular room Charmy exited moments ago; he quickly stopped as soon as he came across the dysfunctional Silver Sonic.

"What is this...?" Espio mumbled under his breath. Silver Sonic had apparently heard Espio, but was having difficulty walking in a straight line, let alone reach Espio.

"TAR-TARGET ACQUIR-ACQUIR-LOCATED," Silver Sonic stuttered. Espio shook off the feeling that something was wrong with the robot and he snuck past it, heading down the corridor Charmy went down moments ago. Not too long afterwards, Sonic dashed into the room, with Vector and Tails in his Tornado 2 mech right behind him. Seeing the Silver Sonic didn't faze Sonic at all; Sonic merely jumped into the air, curled into a ball, and used his signature Homing Attack on the robotic behemoth. Sonic smashed right into the skull of Silver Sonic; using the speed of ricocheting off of Silver Sonic's heavily damaged head, Sonic began racing down the same corridor Espio went down, intent on catching up with the invisible chameleon. Vector quickly followed, and Tails ensured the Silver Sonic's destruction by shooting at it multiple times with the Tornado 2's lasers. Silver Sonic quickly combusted and exploded; satisfied, Tails followed Vector, Sonic, and Espio down the same corridor, all of them heading for the cockpit room.

* * *

Eggman, having witnessed the entire event on the monitor, gaped profusely. He was at a loss for words for a couple fleeting moments, until he began smashing his fists on the desktop he was usually sitting at.

"BLAST IT, BLAST IT, BLAST IT!" Eggman screamed. "CURSED CHAOTIX! And that irritating hedgehog too! All of them will pay!"

Cream, still worried, was a bit relieved to hear that whatever Eggman had ready planned failed already; she was still nervous though. "...the...the Chaotix are here?" Cream mumbled to herself, not intending to have Eggman hear her. Fortunately for her, Eggman was too busy smashing his fists on the desktop to even consider acknowledging Cream's mumbled words. The small informational robot from before popped up, saluting Eggman graciously.

"Doctor Eggman, we regret to inform your that your Silver Sonic Mark Mark Three has been destroyed. Eggman, now even more enraged, slapped the robot as hard as he could, going so far as to even make the robot spin in place after slapping it.

"I KNOW, YOU BUMBLING DUNGBOT!" Eggman screeched. "Activate my Eggmobile! It's time to give Sonic a little something he won't soon forget!"

"I understand what you mean Doctor Eggman. Hopefully this time he'll remember your robotic attacks for more than five minutes after he wins," the robot chuckled. Eggman glared at the robot, sending icy daggers behind his blue goggles to the robot. Sighing, the robot retreated back into the system it normally traveled by, and Eggman walked over to Cream's spherical cage.

"Well, it looks like we're going to need to do some redecorating..." Eggman chuckled, scaring Cream. Eggman then bent over and lifted up the spherical cage on his own merit; stumbling a bit because of Cream's shrill screams, Eggman then began walking over to a door near his chair, which was presumably the exit to the cockpit area.

* * *

Charmy was still flying down the hall at record speeds, heading for the cockpit room as fast as he could; hearing Cream's scream-although muffled from how far he was-only made him fly faster. Nearly going as fast or maybe even faster than Espio, Charmy sped through the hallway and into yet another circular room; however, this time Charmy knew it was different. Looking around the new circular room, Charmy only saw two corridors: one behind him and one to the front of him on the other side. The other side of the circular room had thick plexiglass windows showing the blue sky outside, albeit a bit tinted. Once Charmy was inside the circular room, however, the corridor behind him slammed shut via a steel door.

"Ack! What the-!" Charmy gasped, turning around to see the corridor behind him disappear.

"Surpriiiiiiiise!" Eggman cackled from behind. Charmy, surprised and nervous, turned around again to see Eggman float downwards towards Charmy, grinning evilly. Eggman was inside his Eggmobile, except attached to the Eggmobile were two large mechanical arms with spikes on the outer edge. Charmy could clearly see Cream-still in her cage-inside the Eggmobile as well. Cream was surprised to see Charmy, and vice versa.

"Wah! Cream!" Charmy shouted.

"I admit, I never expected YOU of all people to beat my Silver Sonic!" Eggman cackled. "But no more! Consider this payback for stinging me so many times after I hired you to save the world!"

With that, Eggman used his Eggmobile and charged down at Charmy, intending to squish the living daylights out of him. Charmy, shouting, flew immediately to the right to avoid Eggman's crushing grasp. Eggman didn't hold up in his pursuit and he went after Charmy; pressing several buttons on the control panel in the Eggmobile, the large arms on the Eggmobile stretched out to try and grab Charmy. Charmy dodged to the left and right, panicked and unsure of how to beat Eggman.

"Hold still, you little runt!" Eggman growled.

"No way!" Charmy shouted, annoyed and irritated beyond belief. Charmy continued dashing around the circular room like crazy, but Eggman anticipated Charmy's speedy maneuvers; anticipating Charmy's tactics, Eggman shot out an arm in front of Charmy to capture him. Charmy had no chance as he ran directly into the large robotic hand, making him dazed and disoriented. Eggman took the opportunity and trapped Charmy with the second large hand, and Eggman pulled Charmy towards him. Charmy, realizing he was caught, squirmed violently to try and get free; however, this was to no avail.

"Ah HA!" Eggman laughed. "Now you're mine!"

"Ngh! Hey let me go!" Charmy cried out. Charmy continued squirming to get free; so, this is why Espio never let him on really dangerous missions! "_Aw, no no NO! This day stinks!_"

"Nighty-night, you overgrown insect!" Eggman growled. However, before Eggman could squish Charmy into a disgusting ooze, a large crashing noise made itself known behind Eggman. Turning around, Eggman saw the steel door that slammed shut earlier had been broken down, and Sonic was standing amidst the smoke, grinning.

"Well, Eggman, looks like we meet once more!" Sonic laughed. Tails, Vector, and Espio all ran in as well; Vector and Espio saw Charmy, and gaped.

"CHARMY!" Espio shouted.

"Uh...heheh...hi..." Charmy muttered.

"Argh! You irritating hedgehog!" Eggman growled; with that, Eggman threw Charmy off to the side and began trying to grab Sonic to injure him. Sonic, however, used his super speed to merely dash circles around Eggman. Charmy, dazed, got up from where he was thrown, until he was shaken back to reality by being grabbed by Vector.

"WHAT are you doing here!" Vector growled in-between his gritted teeth. Charmy, completed scared, broke down crying.

"I-I'm sorry! I just wanted to help!" Charmy whimpered.

"Charmy!" Espio shouted, before going up next to Vector and Charmy. "Listen. Since you're here, help us defeat Eggman. We'll discuss your punishment when we get home."

"Yes, Espio..." Charmy muttered, still saddened. However, whenever Vector and Espio looked away and went to help Sonic and Tails fight Eggman, Charmy got an idea. "_Wait...if they destroy the machine, Eggman will flee with Cream...I gotta get Cream outta the Eggmobile!_"

With that realization, Charmy flew at his highest possible speed over to the Eggmobile; fortunately for him, Eggman had his back to Charmy and was busy trying to smash Tails and his Tornado 2 to pieces. Sonic continuously smashed the hands of Eggman's metallic arm attachments to damage them, while Espio was throwing large shurikens at the main body of the Eggmobile. Vector was using his large fists and bulk to smash the back of the machine with large punches; Charmy got inside the Eggmobile quickly, hoping Eggman wouldn't step back. Cream, seeing this, turned to Charmy, surprised. Covering her mouth with her hand, Cream slowly crawled to the edge of her circular cage to see Charmy.

"Charmy!" Cream whispered. "What are you doing here?"

"Bustin' you out!" Charmy whispered back. "_As well as being busted later..._"

"How?" Cream asked, nervous. "There's no way to get me out."

"...there is one way," Charmy realized. "Cream. Get as far away from me as possible while inside that cage. I'm gonna smash it open."

Cream's eyes widened. "How are you going to do that?" Cream whispered, nervous. Charmy just turned around and pointed to his stinger.

"There's more than one way to get a job done," Charmy reassured; Cream, listening to Charmy's warning, crawled back until she was as far away from Charmy as the cage would let her. Charmy, turned around still, looked up to see Eggman still focused intently on Sonic, Tails, Espio, and Vector. Charmy, smirking, ran backwards as fast as he could, jamming his sharp stinger into the plexiglass cage and shattering it in one powerful blow. Charmy, in immense pain, screamed out upon doing that; Eggman, shocked, jumped slightly and turned around to see Charmy and Cream behind him.

"PESTS!" Eggman shouted, before reaching down to grab them both. However, before he could, Charmy smacked his hands away.

"Take this, you bad man!" Charmy barked through teary eyes as he kicked Eggman in the shins. Eggman yelped upon being hit in the shins, and Charmy went over to grab Cream and get her out of there. Sonic, taking advantage of the confusion, ran up the side of one of the arms on the Eggmobile and jumped upwards; afterwards, Sonic used his signature Homing Attack to smash himself into the front of the Eggmobile. The Eggmobile tipped over and began to fall; surprised, Eggman tripped over Charmy and fell out of the Eggmobile, while Charmy and Cream both tumbled out. Vector and Espio ran over to the two children, worried for their safety.

"You two OK?" Vector asked, more worried about Cream than Charmy. Cream got up, and-albeit a bit dazed-she merely brushed off some dust on her orange dress.

"I'm...fine," Cream muttered. "Thank you very much, Mr. Vector."

"No problem!" Vector laughed.

"Charmy, you OK?" Espio wondered. Charmy, fighting back tears from hurting his stinger, nodded.

"Yeah..." Charmy weakly answered. Sonic and Tails dashed over to the group; both of them had positive attitudes and a smiling face on.

"Are you all alright?" Tails asked.

"Yeah, we're fine," Espio answered. Eggman, angry, bounded upwards and began running off.

"You haven't seen the last of me! Just you wait and see!" Eggman barked as he ran towards the cockpit room via the second corridor in the room.

"Hey stop! I'll go chase him down!" Sonic shouted.

"I'll be right behind ya, Sonic!" Tails chuckled.

"Hold on Tails. How about you take the Chaotix and Cream back down safely?" Sonic asked. "The ship's gonna go down soon enough anyway."

"Alright then," Tails agreed. "Just be careful, Sonic."

"When have I not?" Sonic laughed. "Safe trip you two! And tell Vanilla I said hi!"

With that, Sonic ran off down the second corridor to follow Eggman. "OK, guys, hop in! I'll take you all back to Vanilla's home as fast as the Tornado 2 can go!" Tails offered.

"Thank you very much, Tails!" Cream giggled, obviously happy. Charmy was completely surprised by that tone of speech; usually Cream was well-reserved, but every time around Tails she acted all bubbly and cute. Tails smiled and nodded at all of them, and Vector quickly bounded in; once again, Vector nearly tipped over the Tornado 2.

"Alright, everyone aboard Prower Airlines before the ship goes down!" Vector shouted. Espio quickly jumped aboard and stood on the back where Sonic usually stood; Charmy and Cream both jumped into the backseat. Unfortunately for them, they were squished between Vector and the metallic sides, making it an uncomfortable ride for them both. Tails changed the Tornado 2 from its battle mech setting to its flying setting as they began to fly into the air; Tails headed directly for the plexiglass windows and blasted them down, before flying out at high speed. Charmy turned around to see the Egg Carrier Mark 4 already exploding in the back; Tails and Sonic must've destroyed some major systems while he was incarcerated.

"Charmy," Espio whispered, lowering his head to Charmy's level. "How did you get up here anyway?"

"...stowed away," Charmy sighed.

"The toolbox compartment's too small," Espio pointed out.

"Who said I went into a compartment?" Charmy nervously chuckled. Espio's eyes widened as he realized what Charmy meant, but then they shut as Espio rubbed his forehead in frustration. Charmy, not wanting to say anything more, turned back to face the front of the Tornado 2 as Tails dipped them beneath the clouds and away from the ugly sight of the Egg Carrier Mark 4.

* * *

Just a few measly minutes later, the entire Chaotix crew were standing in Cream's front yard. Vanilla, Cream, and Cheese were crying with joy as they hugged each other, all of them happy to be together again. Tails, smiling, turned to the Chaotix crew members.

"Thanks for your help, Espio, Vector. We couldn't have gotten through this without you," Tails thanked.

"It's no prob, man!" Vector laughed.

"Hey, Charmy. Thanks for helping too. I'm not sure what you did, but you really helped out," Tails tried to compliment.

"Thanks, man," Charmy thanked; he knew that Tails was trying to be polite, so there was no need to feel insulted. After all, Charmy knew he never was supposed to come up there in the first place. Vanilla, still holding onto Cream and carrying her in her arms with Cream's arms draped over her mother's neck, walked to the Chaotix and Tails.

"I can never find ways to express my gratitude...thank you, all of you, so much..." Vanilla thanked, her voice nearly breaking from sheer joy.

"Chao!" Cheese giggled, happy as well.

"Aw, it's no problem, m'am! We're the Chaotix, and we get any mission big or small done with expert care!" Vector laughed. "Glad to see you guys are happy!"

"Vector, I honestly cannot thank you enough," Vanilla sighed happily.

"Mr. Vector, thank you for helping me," Cream giggled. "Mr. Espio, thank you too. Oh, and you Tails, Charmy."

Tails smiled and nodded, giving a thumbs up. "You're welcome, Cream," Tails acknowledged.

"Yeah, you're welcome!" Charmy added.

"Oh, and please tell Mr. Sonic thank you for all he has done," Cream asked.

"Don't worry, I will," Tails noted. "Also, Ms. Vanilla, Sonic says hi."

Vanilla just smiled. "Well tell him I say hi back," Vanilla chuckled.

"Is that another mission?" Vector asked, obviously joking. Vanilla began laughing a bit from this, and Vector followed suit; Cream, overjoyed, joined her mother in laughing, and Cheese did the same. After a good half-minute of the chuckles passed, Vector stretched out.

"Well, I guess we'd better head back home! C'mon, Chaotix, back to the old grind!" Vector laughed. Espio and Charmy both followed Vector out of Cream's front lawn and onto the dirt road; taking a right turn, they all began heading home. Cheese, Vanilla, Cream, and Tails all waved good-bye.

"Have a safe trip!" Vanilla shouted.

"We will! Bye!" Vector laughed.

"See ya!" Tails chuckled.

* * *

Back at the Chaotix Detective Agency, Charmy nervously sat on his bed, looking down at the floor. In front of him were Espio and Vector, both of them standing and staring at Charmy. Nighttime had already begun to fall outside as the once light blue sky turned into a dark velvet blue, broken only by the twinkling white stars shining the sky in a mystic beauty that coincided with nature's calmness.

"Alright, Charmy," Espio sighed. "Why did you disobey us this time?"

"...I...I just wanted to help..." Charmy muttered.

"You nearly got yourself killed," Espio pointed out.

"B-but I did help! Honest!" Charmy pleaded, looking up from the ground.

"While I admit you did free Cream, Sonic would've gotten her free nonetheless," Espio explained.

"Well, yeah, but Eggman could've left with her!" Charmy explained.

"Could've being the key word," Vector revealed; Charmy's eyes widened as he realized a simple fact from Vector's sentence: he had literally no argument at all!

"Uh...well...I managed to escape from a jail cell using a half-dollar coin and my stinger! And I damaged Silver Sonic! Yeah!" Charmy tried to point out.

"That explains why it was so dysfunctional when I came across it," Espio sighed. "I am curious. How did you do that?"

"I just kicked its head and pulled some wires out..." Charmy sighed. "Y'know, nothing fancy, like how Tails does things..."

"What does Tails have do with this?" Vector asked, confused.

"N-nothing! I'm just saying, he does things better than me, is all..." Charmy sighed; Vector looked down into Charmy's eyes, still confused as to what the bee boy was thinking. "B-but I swear on my honor as a Chaotix Detective! I know I didn't listen, and I'm sorry, but I just had to help Cream and Vanilla and you guys out!"

Espio just shook his head, sighing. However, Vector saw something in Charmy's eyes at the exact moment he said Cream. "_...you sneak,_" Vector mentally chuckled. Standing back straight up, Charmy looked down at the floorboards again, saddened.

"Charmy, I'm disappointed," Espio sighed.

"Yeah, but you have to admit, he did real well," Vector explained. This surprised both Charmy and Espio as they both turned to him, gaping.

"Wh-what?" Charmy asked, stuttering.

"Yeah, he did do good, but he still didn't listen," Espio pointed out.

"So his punishment should be fair," Vector answered. "Charmy, for two weeks, no dessert, only two hours of television each day, and you have to actually DO your chores, alright?"

Charmy, nodding his head and completely relieved that he wouldn't be relieved of his duties as a detective, smiled. "I understand, Vector, sir! What's my first chore?" Charmy asked.

"Well, I do need you to deliver something," Vector explained. "It's in my office."

"Sure thing!" Charmy exclaimed, before zooming out of his room and down to Vector's office before even hearing what the object to be delivered was. Vector sighed, and followed Charmy down to his office with Espio behind him. Once inside Vector's cluttered office, Vector went over to his desk and opened a filing cabinet. Charmy flew eagerly on the other side of the desk, for once glad to be doing chores. Espio waited by the door, silent. Soon enough, Vector pulled out the delivery item in question.

A box of chocolates.

Charmy stared at the sweets, confused. "Uh...who do I deliver that to?" Charmy asked.

"Oh, I need you to deliver it to Vanilla's home," Vector explained. "Just as a gift so Vanilla and Cream can rest and relax after that stressful day."

"Oh, OK..." Charmy answered, a small blush on his face. Vector had noted this, and smirked.

"Tell 'em its from all of us, OK?" Vector asked.

"Y-yes sir!" Charmy answered, before flying out of the Chaotix Detective Agency towards Cream's home. Espio, once seeing Charmy gone, looked at Vector.

"...OK, I'll bite," Espio sighed.

"Aw, think about it, ya hardhead," Vector laughed. "Why would Charmy wanna actually do a mission...unless he was trying to impress someone?"

Espio stood there for a moment, before smirking calmly. "I guess I should've predicted that," Espio chuckled.

"Hey, were we really gonna demote the poor guy anyway?" Vector sighed.

"No, but I guess next time he screws up, we'll need a more effective approach," Espio explained.

"How about we can't let him see Cream again?" Vector joked, before laughing. Espio just let out a small chuckle as he shut his eyes while leaning against the wall.

"Yeah, like THAT'LL work," Espio sarcastically chuckled.

* * *

Charmy nervously flew down the dirt road, holding the box of chocolates carefully. Peering into the box, he saw the entire assortment of chocolates: coconut, cherry, cream-filled, caramel, and nuts. Charmy, remembering that Cream hated coconuts, took all the coconut chocolates out and ate them quickly, before closing the box and making it look untouched. Charmy quickly wiped off any chocolate remains on his face with his arm, while nervously approaching Cream's home; although he couldn't see it yet, he knew it wasn't too far. Charmy took a deep breath as he remembered what Silver had told him not too long ago when he first became aware of his feelings.

* * *

_"Hey, Silver!" Charmy shouted, flying up to a ivory-furred hedgehog with cyan circles on his white gloves, cyan-and-white colored shoes with a golden edge at the top, and a tuft of fur on his forehead that stuck upwards. "Silver!"_

_Silver, yawning, sat up from laying down on shady grass underneath a large tree. "Hey, Charmy? What's going on?" Silver asked, standing up now._

_"Uh, well...I...I needed your opinion on something," Charmy explained._

_"OK, shoot," Silver acknowledged._

_"Well...uh...er...you see..." Charmy began. "...I...I kinda...developed...a crush on someone, and I need your help with it."_

_Charmy turned away, embarrassed; he knew he couldn't tell Espio or Vector, in fear they may screw it all up. Silver, however, understood and smiled. "A crush on someone, huh?" Silver wondered. "Let me guess: Cream."_

_Charmy, his eyes widened, turned to Silver in awe. "How...how did you...?" Charmy stuttered._

_"It wasn't that hard to figure it out," Silver explained. "Besides, you do so much to try and make her laugh, and you are usually quick to have a conversation with her."_

_"Wow...I guess I'm too easy to read, huh...?" Charmy sighed, his antennae drooping over his head._

_"Hey, believe me or not, Blaze actually figured it out before I did," Silver pointed out. Charmy dropped his jaw, surprised; if he was that easy to read, Cream would surely already know! "She actually knew way before, from when she witnessed you starting up a conversation with her. She said it was really cute."_

_"...she...she did...?" Charmy timidly asked._

_"Yep," Silver chuckled._

_"...Silver...there's just one problem...she likes hanging out with Tails a LOT more than me. What if she likes him over me!" Charmy cried out._

_"Trust me, I doubt it," Silver smiled.  
_

_"But...well...what if she doesn't like me the same way I like her...?" Charmy nervously asked Silver. Silver just smirked.  
_

_"I have a feeling she will," Silver chuckled. "I mean, look at her. You two do get along so well."_

_"Silver...I really do like her...she makes me feel like flying so much..." Charmy explained nervously. "B-but...what do I say, Silver? What do I say?"_

_Silver just crossed his arms, smirking. "Can't tell ya, man," Silver explained._

_"Wh-what? Why not?" Charmy asked, a bit angry._

_"Because it's something you have to do on your own. I can't write the words of your heart," Silver explained. Charmy, feeling guilty for having almost gotten angry, gulped._

_"O-oh..." Charmy noted. "B-but what if she hates me! Or...I mean, what if she doesn't like me the same way...?"_

_Silver just put his arm on Charmy's shoulder, smiling not as a friend, but almost as a brother. "Trust me when I say this. If you just try, you won't regret it," Silver reassured. Charmy gulped, sighed, then smiled._

_"Thanks Silver...I hope you're right," Charmy thanked, before turning around and flying off into the woods near Cream's home. Silver just chuckled, before lying on the soft grass underneath the shade of a large tree._

_"Buzz free, little bee, buzz free..." Silver chuckled to himself, before yawning and falling back asleep underneath the shade of the tree._

_

* * *

_Charmy nervously flew up to Cream's front door. He had never felt more intimidated in his life until this point; he was literally shaking like he was freezing. "Pull yourself together Charmy..." Charmy sighed, before manning up and pressing the doorbell. Landing on the ground to not seem rude, Charmy stood and waited for someone to answer the door and accept the gift; Charmy didn't know if he wanted Vanilla to answer so he could get it over with or if he wanted Cream to answer so he could admit his feelings already. The doorknob turned, and the door opened at that moment...

...revealing the figure of Cream.

"Oh, good evening, Charmy. How do you do?" Cream politely asked, smiling. Charmy, completely nervous, smiled back.

"Uh, I do good. How about you?" Charmy nervously chuckled. "_Genius._"

"I'm fine," Cream answered happily. "I never really got around to thanking you for freeing me from Eggman, so thank you."

"Uh, you're welcome, Cream," Charmy answered happily, although nervously; Charmy really hoped Cream wouldn't see his blush. "So, uh...from the Chaotix to you and Ms. Vanilla. Enjoy!"

With that, Charmy handed over the box of chocolates. Cream, not knowing it was chocolates, opened the box to see the chocolates. Gasping, Cream took note of the cherry, nut, caramel, and cream-filled chocolates awaiting her within the box. Smiling, she looked back up at Charmy, who was a bit nervous.

"Oh, thank you so much, Charmy!" Cream giggled. "I'm sure Mother and Cheese will love these!"

"I'm glad you like them!" Charmy replied, feeling a bit more sure of himself now.

"...hey, Charmy?" Cream asked, her tone a bit quieter and more confused. Charmy, unsure, darted his eyes left and right before looking at Cream.

"Yes?" Charmy asked.

"Uh...why...why were you alone when you came to rescue me? And when Espio and Vector arrived on the scene, they looked really surprised...?" Cream began. "Mother said you got grounded for something, so..."

"Oh...well..." Charmy sighed.

"Yes?" Cream asked. Charmy stood there, rubbing the back of his head with his right hand; he was going to have to tell her sooner or later.

So why not sooner?

"Uh...well...I was grounded..." Charmy sighed.

"Oh goodness..." Cream slightly gasped. "So that explains why they were surprised and why you were alone...but why did you go up there alone? It was dangerous."

"...Cream...I...I wanted...to...help you..." Charmy explained, now knowing no matter what she would find his blush eventually. Cream herself got a small red-faced tone, surprised.

"O-oh, I see..." Cream noted.

"I mean...the reason I was grounded was...well...I was thinking of talking to you earlier, but your mom caught me in the trees, and I thought I was still in the woods..." Charmy explained, almost rambling before he stopped himself. Cream's blush was even more evident at this point.

"You...you wanted to talk to me? But why would you need to think about it?" Cream asked.

"I...well...um..." Charmy sighed, before gulping. "I...kinda wanted to hang out with you...more often..."

"Oh..." Cream answered, her blush now probably equaling Charmy's.

"That's...why I was alone...when I fought Eggman..." Charmy explained. About a minute of silence passed between the two; Charmy had a feeling he'd picked the wrong time, and he was about to turn and leave, whenever Cream said something to stop him.

"...that was a very brave thing to do, Charmy," Cream giggled. Charmy, completely shocked with his eyes widened, blinked several times before regaining his composure.

"R-really? You think it's brave?" Charmy asked, surprised and a bit light-headed.

"Yes, I think it's brave," Cream answered. "You're a really impressive fighter, and a good guy at heart. I respect that."

"Y-you do?" Charmy gasped, even more surprised.

"Yes," Cream answered. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I...I..." Charmy stuttered, now completely stuck in the mud.

Then his heart spoke where his bran stopped.

"I think I like you..." Charmy muttered, before completely slapping his mouth shut. "_WHAT! DID! I! JUST! SAY!" _Charmy screamed at himself mentally.

However, although Cream was surprised, she was still calm.

"You really are a sweet guy..." Cream giggled. "Maybe we can hang out again sometime? Perhaps tomorrow for tea at noon, you and me, if you're not busy?"

"N-no! I don't think I'll be busy! No sirree! Well, as long as I finish my chores first, but THEN I'd be completely free I know that for sure!" Charmy laughed, now just going with where the conversation went.

"...thank you Charmy," Cream smiled. "You're a nice guy. Thanks for the chocolates."

"No problem! Courtesy of the Chaotix Detective Agency!" Charmy laughed.

"Speaking of which, we never did give you guys a reward for completing your mission..." Cream realized.

"What? No, don't trouble yourself," Charmy nervously laughed. "We don't need anything other than you guys being happy! Consider it an act we did as loyal friends!"

"In that case, consider this an act from a loyal friend," Cream giggled, before giving Charmy a light kiss on the cheek. If Charmy wasn't blushing before, he definitely was now. Cream smiled and giggled cutely, just staring at Charmy, who was completely taken aback and surprised.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Charmy. Tell Mr. Espio and Mr. Vector I wish them good luck," Cream noted.

"Uh...yeah...I will..." Charmy breathed, unsure if he was alive or not.

"Good night," Cream giggled, before shutting the door quietly. Charmy floated there for about ten seconds, before it finally hit him.

Cream liked him back.

Charmy's shocked face turned into an ecstatic smile, and he zoomed out of Cream's front lawn onto the dirt road, raising his hands in the air in excitement as he chuckled happily to himself. "I did it!" Charmy laughed to himself. "She does like me back! Silver and Blaze were right!"

Charmy, decided not to explode in a screaming fit of "She likes me!," decided to use his pent-up adrenaline from the realization to charge back to the Chaotix Detective Agency.

For once, Charmy couldn't wait to get his chores done.

**It's done.**

**Finally, I completed my first one-shot. Hooray! :D And it's also my longest document ever written yet! It has EXACTLY 15, 388 words! Shocking, even for me. :O  
**

**...now, for some disclaimers and credits and stuff.**

**First off, I don't own any of these characters. This is all property of SEGA. I don't own any of it.**

**Secondly, I'd like to thank sprx777 for beginning the one-shot. Like I said before, he tried to start the one-shot, but he couldn't finish it, so I took the reins and ended it. ^.^**

**And finally...why did I make this fic? This is why. I'd like to dedicate this fic to my girlfriend naturegal327. Like Charmy's chocolates to Cream, this is my gift to you. ^^**

**Peace out everyone! And have a great summer! (Or winter, if you're reading this on the other side of the hemisphere).**


End file.
